Huawei Patents Gaming Smartwatch That Can Also Take Selfies

Huawei was awarded a new device patent for a gaming-oriented smartwatch that can also take selfies and boasts a number of other unique functionalities, as revealed by a set of documentation published by the World Intellectual Property Organization last Thursday. The gadget in question has been depicted in a number of sketches attached to Huawei's application, all of which can be seen in the gallery below, with the images illustrating how Huawei envisioned a wearable whose band can be stretched out and serve as an impromptu gamepad, among other things.

The band attached to the newly patented smartwatch is touch-sensitive and can be turned into a controller via a swiping movement or a long-press, the invention documentation reads. Such input can be used for selecting text or controlling an on-screen cursor, besides serving as a control method for smartwatch games and other apps, according to Huawei. The gadget in question has also been envisioned as featuring contemporary sensors such as an accelerometer and a gyroscope so that it's able to detect gestures, with its touch-enabled band also being capable of identifying when it's being pulled or twisted and interpret such actions as controller input as well.

While games can be played horizontally, with each hand holding one part of the wearable's band, Huawei also envisioned a number of gaming use cases which wouldn't require the user to take the smartwatch off their wrist. One specific example described by the Chinese company is a racing game that allows the wearer to steer by swiping the bottom part of the band and brake by touching its top. The watch concept includes a front-facing camera that can be used for taking selfies, with the interactive band also being capable of doubling as a shutter activator. Pinch-to-zoom and similar gestures are supported by both the screen of the wearable and the band itself, according to the patent, whereas numerous motion-controlled games are also part of the conceptual package.

Even though the newly awarded patent is based on a WIPO application Huawei filed last December, the company already protected two similar designs in its home country of China, with the older IP dating back to 2015. While that state of affairs implies Huawei continued to work on the concept of a gaming smartwatch over the last three years, it's presently unclear whether the tech giant has concrete plans to commercialize such a product, especially as its wearable efforts have been slowing down in recent times. The successor to the Huawei Watch 2 released in early 2017 is hence yet to be announced, with the firm recently signaling that it hasn't given up on the idea of releasing it but still isn't planning to do so anytime soon. Besides smartwatch concepts, Huawei has recently also been pushing to patent a number of wearable-specific solutions, including an unconventional method of swapping bands.

Dominik started at AndroidHeadlines in 2016 and is the Head Editor of the site today. He’s approaching his first full decade in the media industry, with his background being primarily in technology, gaming, and entertainment. These days, his focus is more on the political side of the tech game, as well as data privacy issues, with him looking at both of those through the prism of Android. Contact him at [email protected]